Piper auritum (Hoja santa) is an aromatic herb with a heart-shaped, velvety leaf which grows in tropic Mesoamerica. The name hoja santa means "sacred leaf" in Spanish.[2] It is also known as yerba santa,[3][4]hierba santa,[3]Mexican pepperleaf,[4]acuyo,[4]tlanepa,[4]anisillo,[4]root beer plant,[2]Vera Cruz pepper[5] and sacred pepper.[1]

It is often used in Mexican cuisine for tamales, the fish or meat wrapped in fragrant leaves for cooking, and as an essential ingredient in mole verde, the green sauce originated in the Oaxaca region of Mexico.[3] It is also chopped to flavor eggs and soups, such as pozole.[13] In Central Mexico, it is used to flavor chocolate drinks.[4] In southeastern Mexico, a green liquor called Verdín is made from hoja santa.[14] It is also used for tea. In some regions of Mexico, goat cheese is wrapped with the hoja santa leaves and imbued with its flavor.

While typically used fresh, it is also used in dried form, although drying removes much of the flavor and makes the leaf too brittle to be used as a wrapper.[15]

^Benedetti MS, Malnoe A, Broillet AL (Feb 1977). "Absorption, metabolism and excretion of safrole in the rat and man". Toxicology. 7 (1): 69–83. doi:10.1016/0300-483X(77)90039-7. PMID14422.. "The main urinary metabolite in both species was 1,2-dihydroxy-4-allylbenzene which was excreted in a conjugated form. Small amounts of eugenol or its isomer 1-methoxy-2-hydroxy-4-allylbenzene were also detected in rat and man. 1'-Hydroxysafrole, a proximate carcinogen of safrole, and 3'-hydroxyisosafrole were detected as conjugates in the urine of the rat. However, in these investigations we were unable to demonstrate the presence of the latter metabolites in man."